NCGT Local Food Supply Chain Apprenticeship Firsthand Foods Eva Moss
Meet Me • Foreign Service family, Washington, D.C. • Sewanee: The University of the South; Anthropology • Local food economies, intentional communities, health food store & garden, WWOOF permaculture farm NH, Greenhorns • Building healthy, resilient communities, esp. local level food production; • Farm to fork • Community Scale • NCGT & Firsthand Foods • Sustainable Meat • Women in the field
Firsthand Foods & Marketing Apprenticeship • Sustainable meat aggregator and food hub in Durham, NC • Connects North Carolina’s pasture-based livestock producers with local food lovers, restaurants, and retailers. They source from a network of remarkable farmers who raise their animals humanely, on pasture, without using sub-therapeutic antibiotics, animal by- products, or added hormones.* • Build a more sustainable food system for North Carolina • Supplier network, 60 cattle and hog farmers • Support local community scale producers in the local foods market • Aggregator, distributor, marketer - Connector • Social media, marketing “Stock Box” and other news/events, report writing on relationship with UNC- Chapel Hill
My Job • USDA and Wallace Center Report • Partnership with UNC-CH • Food Hub Tool Kit • Interviews • Ethnography • Stock Box Marketing Research and Proposal • Calls, Emails, Reaching Out • Research on the market • Putting together potential product • Social media and communications • Farm visits and story telling • Outreach at local events
UNC-CH Report • Sustainable and local food sourcing • Interest • History • How it’s done • Key players • Structure of Firsthand Foods, position to be approved vendor • Case study for USDA and others interested in similar partnership • Engaging local food supply chains, role of food hubs
“Stock Box” • Moving the whole animal, controlling for waste and costs • Bone Stock, new health fad but also ancient practice • Weston A. Price Foundation • GAPS and Paleo Diets • Researching what the market looks like • Naturopaths • Health food markets • Farmer • Price, product type, packaging and marketing • What would engage consumers?
Outcomes • 8 week period • Marketing packet for “Stock Box” • Finished case study/report written for the USDA & Wallace Center • Blog enhancement • Formatted Firsthand Foods recipes • Social media content development • Photos & videos
Lessons Learned • Enhanced skill sets • Marketing portfolio building • Report writing for large organization and multi-use • Content development for media • Sales • Deepened understanding • Livestock industry • Food supply channels (layered) • Relationships among suppliers • Key players in local food supply chain • We are a community
Lessons Learned • Alternatives to large-scale food distributors • Flaws on every level (supply gaps, cost, etc.) • Time and effort matters, connection • Sampling at our customers • Sharing stories • Showing up • Hard work, just broke even this year • Lots to know - hogs and cattle
Moving Forward • Enhanced my understanding and experience with local food systems • Farm • Law and policy • Missing link: market dynamics, esp. local food supply chains • Reaffirmation working with young farmers and community level food production support • Equipped with skills for future use (lots of writing in law school) • After MFALP at Vermont Law School, working in non- profit sector doing advocacy and programmatic work • Fieldwork • Report writing • Research • Activism
“Apprenticeships are the new internship” • Thank you Firsthand Foods, especially Tina and Jennifer for absolutely everything • Responsibility, integrity, and independence • Inspiration • Keep the apprentices coming! • Valuable experience • Real skill development • Cutting edge
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